renee anne // art. love. food. life

[images via forty-sixth at grace]

just like ben folds* once said, there is always someone cooler than you. not that I think that is a bad thing. but seriously, how amazing is nikole's tutorial and free printable recipe. I sort of want to print it just so I can frame it. one day I will make those cookies and they will be amazing. until then, I will stare at nikole's amazing photographs and dream of days when I will be cooler (than you) (just kidding).

Recipe time again! Before I get started, I must say that I am not by any means a “good cook”. I fail more than I succeed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to try. I would happily eat the same meal every night, but for some reason it has been instilled in me that we can’t really do that. Well I am sure I could. But you know what I mean.

Anyway, because I am a bit snack/desert crazy I like to have nice light dinner options, that make me feel like I am eating a big comforting meal, without all those uncomforting calories! Enter zucchini pasta! What a wonderful invention this is. I love pasta/Italian style meals, however I find it hard to be good with portion sizes, so when I heard people talking about replacing the pasta with zucchini, I thought what a fabulous idea! All the hearty Italian fun, without that heavy bulky feeling at the end of the meal.

Here are the instructions for you, I know they are not very precise, but I really don’t think they need to be. I am hopefully just showing you an alternative way to prepare zucchini to help you lighten up those pasta dishes. Feel free to experiment with toppings, and be sure to let me know if you do!

You will need
> julienne peeler
> bowl
> fry pan (optional)

Ingredients*
> 3-4 large zucchinis
> olive oil
> sea salt

Method
Wash zucchinis and cut off the ends. Lie a zucchini on your chopping board and run your julienne peeler the length of the zucchini, creating a long thin strip. Repeat this process for the whole zucchini, you will get used to the technique as you go. Try and slice the whole length in one swoop so you get nice long strips.

Once sliced, place in a large bowl. Cover with some olive oil and sea salt (I used 2 tbsp for 3 zucchinis but you might like more or less). Toss to coat and let sit for a few hours to marinate (optional).

Decide on your ‘topping’, just go with what you normally like on your pasta. At this point, you can either serve with the raw zucchini, or you can warm/soften it slightly.

If cooking, take your fry pan and toss in the zucchini strips. After a few minutes they will begin to soften up. Add your pasta sauce (try homemade tomato sauce with mushrooms and onion) give it a stir, and then serve! Again, if you like cheese, extra seasoning, add that too!

You will have to judge serving size. 3-4 large zucchinis should make enough pasta for 2 people or 4 as a side.

**please also note :: sorry if you can spot the typo in my printable download. that is so so terrible of me. I did try to fix it but I am stupid and flattened my .psd file. what an idiot. don't hate me.

Thought I would share a little recipe with you today! There has been a lot of talk lately about raw food, and while I am not a total raw foodist, I do love and enjoy a lot of raw food recipes. Often they show you ways of making yummy delicious food, that can still be considered "healthy". Take ice cream for example, I love love love it but I can't really tolerate a lot of dairy (and neither can my thighs), however there are loads of raw vegan "ice cream" recipes out there and now I can enjoy my favourite treat, guilt free.

Anyways, I thought I would share with you an easy one today. I am a HUGE snacker and I am always on the look out for healthy, organic snacks that are easy to make. I came across this recipe after a quick google search and decided to give them a try! Turns out they are super easy and extra delicious. I have the recipe for you below, and also in fancy PDF form for download, should you feel obliged.

If you are keen on the raw food thing, check out my super talented friends website Bee Raw. They are super raw foodists and share some easy to follow recipes over on their site.


you will need

> a food processor or blender
> measuring cups
> two bowls
> a tray that will fit in freezer

ingredients

base
> 2/3 C macadamia nuts
> 2/3 C cashews
> 2/3 C shredded coconut

chocolate mix
> 1/8 C raw honey
> 1/8 C cacao powder
> pinch of salt
> splash of water

vanilla mix
> 2 Tbs raw peanut butter* or almond butter
> 1 Tbs vanilla extract
> pinch of salt
> splash of water

method

Put all the base ingredients in a food processor and blend until slightly chunky. Separate evenly into two bowls. Add chocolate mix to one bowl, add the vanilla mix to the other and mix well (use hands). Using hands or spoon, form into little balls and place on tray. Refrigerate or freeze to harden. Serve on pretty plate and enjoy!

Makes 15 balls.

Download a PDF of this recipe here

*my peanut butter is just raw peanuts grounded into butter

Disclaimer :: according to some raw food purists, this may not be considered raw. I am not sure. But it is raw enough for me anyway. hehe.

What do you think of the raw food movement? Do you "eat raw"? Do you have any recipes you would like to share?